Planeación e implementación de transiciones justas: oportunidades para la cooperación Sur-Sur

The report examines the challenges of Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), noting their tendency to prioritize donor agendas and techno-economic frameworks over local social needs. It proposes South-South cooperation (SSC) as a vital complement to address these gaps through peer learning and context-specific solutions. Using South Africa and Colombia as case studies, the document identifies specific areas for collaboration, including mine closure, green industrialization, and the integration of peace-building experiences into transition planning.

• Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) are innovative North-South cooperation models that face significant constraints regarding funding, local ownership, and equity. While intended to be country-led, they often reproduce asymmetric power dynamics and prioritize the agendas of international donors over the development priorities of recipient nations.
• JETPs frequently rely on a techno-economic paradigm that emphasizes emission reductions through specific technologies and market mechanisms, often ignoring the socio-economic realities of recipient countries. This approach risks being 'socially or ecologically exclusive' and may prioritize large-scale renewables over equitable energy access.
• South-South cooperation (SSC) provides a complementary pathway for just transitions by enabling developing countries to share technical knowledge and develop solutions tailored to similar socio-economic and governance challenges. SSC can promote more holistic approaches that integrate local needs such as job creation, energy access, and socio-political inclusion.
• The implementation of the JETP in South Africa reveals a gap between international commitments and local realities, characterized by political resistance from coal interests, social unrest following plant closures (such as the Komati plant), and a risk that funds are spent on high-level foreign consultancy rather than community projects.
• There is significant potential for bilateral cooperation between South Africa and Colombia in several technical and strategic areas: managing mine closures (legal, engineering, and ecological restoration), leveraging peace-building project experiences for inclusive planning, and pursuing 'green industrialization' through complementary natural resources, such as producing green steel using South African iron and Colombian renewable energy.
• While promising, South-South cooperation is not without risks, including persistent power asymmetries, governance issues, and the influence of private multinationals or state-owned enterprises from the Global South that may have interests aligned with fossil fuels, such as the China National Petroleum Corporation in Africa or the Adani Group in Indonesia.

APA

Arond, E., Strambo, C., Corral, F., & Burton, J. (2026). Planeación e implementación de transiciones justas: oportunidades para la cooperación Sur-Sur. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/260320a-pr315-arond-planning-and-implementing-2508b-spanish-1.pdf

Chicago

Arond, Elisa, Claudia Strambo, Felipe Corral, and Jesse Burton. Planeación e implementación de transiciones justas: oportunidades para la cooperación Sur-Sur. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2026. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/260320a-pr315-arond-planning-and-implementing-2508b-spanish-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Arond |first1=Elisa |last2=Strambo |first2=Claudia |last3=Corral |first3=Felipe |last4=Burton |first4=Jesse |title=Planeación e implementación de transiciones justas: oportunidades para la cooperación Sur-Sur |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=January 2026 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/260320a-pr315-arond-planning-and-implementing-2508b-spanish-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{arond2026planeacin, author = {Arond, Elisa and Strambo, Claudia and Corral, Felipe and Burton, Jesse}, title = {{Planeación e implementación de transiciones justas: oportunidades para la cooperación Sur-Sur}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/260320a-pr315-arond-planning-and-implementing-2508b-spanish-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }